I drank raw milk until the dairy no longer offered it.
I THINK it depends on the state you are in....the regulations. But in Iowa to sell raw milk the regulations are enormous....testing testing washing etc etc.
I believe even grade A milk, when un pasteurized has a danger of lysteria. My husband who was raised on a dairy farm, with at one time a bottling plant that bought milk form lots of farmers, always said, when you find a farmer who feeds his kids the milk from his cows without pasteurizing, you can be pretty sure that milk is clean.
I always think the taste of raw milk is way superior to pasteurized milk.

I agree, LindaC, I must prefer raw milk to pasteurized milk, but it's illegal to sell raw milk commercially in Michigan. What farms do is sell a "cow share", so for a set amount you get a share of the milk from that cow. No one near me does that, so there is no raw milk available for me to buy.

I'd be very careful of the facility if I decided to go the raw milk route. I do make mozzarella, ricotta and yogurt myself and I make it from milk from the store, so it doesn't require raw milk but as I mentioned, I do like the taste and the texture of raw milk.

The closest I get is from Country Dairy, they sell organic milk straight from the farm, no antibiotics, hormones or additives.

Annie

In Oregon you can sell raw milk in stores, but it's labeled for "pets" not for human consumption. There is a small farm exception, so a farmer with three lactating cows or nine lactating goats or sheep can sell milk. However, there's no licensing or inspection and they are prohibited from advertising. Bringing milk "across the border" from Washington (or the reverse) is illegal.

I was one of those farmer's kids who grew up on raw milk from our own dairy. My first taste of pasteurized milk was in the college dining hall.

Listeria is a big risk with raw milk. Personally, I wouldn't buy raw milk today without knowing which dairy it came from and its health record. In fact, I wouldn't buy raw milk unless it was from a dairy I visited.

Carol

Here in Kansas, by law, we have to buy raw milk directly from the producer. I didn't have a problem with doing that because the farm is just a few miles from me and I primarily used the milk for yogurt and kefir, not drinking, because of the cost. I would let the Mrs. set the day and time of her convenience and provided my own sterilized jars, and soon learned with each subsequent visit she must not have owned a calendar nor a watch. My milk was usually kept in the refrigerator on the porch. But one day I got as far as their kitchen, which is where they process the milk. Once I saw the condition of their kitchen, that was IT!!! I assumed their pig sty looked better and I was more concerned with bacteria from the people than from the milk-producing animals.

I've read all of the Weston A. Price information about the Raw Milk Movement, but I still pasteurized all the raw milk I purchased. I agree with Carol. We are contending with bacteria like Listeria as well as Bovine Tuberculosis, and I wasn't sure if they had their animals tested.

All-in-all it was a grand idea, but soon became impractical. I've used a powdered whey-based milk substitute for 30-years now. It's very practical in this day and age. So I'm going with practical. I just can't manage a perfect world.....

-Grainlady

I use raw milk when I can get it, which isn't very often. It's illegal to sell it in WV. But I would never buy raw milk from a confinement dairy in any case. I had been getting it from people who kept a family milk cow. I would buy it from a dairy that was doing managed intensive grazing if WV allowed it to be sold from the farm.

They do sell it here- the country grocer which carries the natural beef, wheat,etc, has it in gallons by what looks to be an official dairy that produces raw milk.

I appreciate your replies, I'm not going to get it.
Maybe someday I'll visit the dairy and decide then.
Thanks!

I read this article on-line this morning (Washington Times) - "Feds sting Amish farmer selling raw milk locally". It's hard to know what to say... Good grief - just doesn't do it justice!

-Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: Washington Times article

That's terrible such people would be vilified when so many real criminals get away with serious crimes.
And everything I read says raw milk is the best nutritionally for you, no comparison.

I made your wheat bread recipe (the one with the chia seeds- though I still haven't used those yet) recently Grainlady, and it is still my favorite wheat bread. It was the first time I used Prairie Gold wheat and now I am sold. It really is so much better than the other strongly flavored wheats.

bumblebeez-

WOO HOO!!! Chia seeds are always optional, but I really like the extra nutrition and fiber they provide, as well as how they help keep the bread moist for a week. I love Prairie Gold wheat too - even if it's the most expensive wheat I purchase.... ;-)

-Grainlady

We had a similar sting operation in Missouri too. I think it is a ridiculous use of tax money! I, too, believe that the large Milk processors are behind this! DFA (Dairy Farmers of American) does not want small producers in business....I sold milk to them for years and never was happy with them or their management.

I drink raw milk....but from my own cow. I wouldn't drink milk from a local producer unless they were willing to show me how they milked and processed their milk. Not even all Grade A dairies are equal. I have been in a few that made me wonder how they qualified! There is a reason all that milk must be pasteurized!

Agri-business has been trying to run small farmers out of business for a long time, not just dairy. Beef growers, egg producers, even vegetables. Look at Monsanto with their GMO stuff.

They (and I) thought they finally had us with the National Animal Identification system, but there was such an outcry that it's still "voluntary". Of course, a kid can't even raise a 4-H animal without registering it, but the government has decided that I don't have to get a permit in advance to eat my own chicken. They do still want every animal on my place microchipped (at my cost, of course), and they want me to register the farm and pay permits and registration fees, of course. I'm told it's for the "safety of the food supply", but they want me to chip the horse, which certainly won't be eaten. Since only about 1% of foreign food shipments get tested for anything at all, I think maybe they should start somewhere besides the farmer who is raising a few steers and some chickens and milking a dozen cows, if they're concerned about safety.

They'll keep trying, trust me, that raw milk is just an example. Yeah, that's the way to keep us safe, LOL.

Annie

It's illegal to sell raw milk in my state. One farmer is thinking about offering cow shares, but I'd have to drive an hour, and I'm not sure it's worth the risk (the above hygiene/lysteria issue). I just found out last night my dad grew up with milk cows! If DH & I can move out of town in a few years, I think I'll work on him to let me keep a goat.

My grocery store has one cooler for "health food", like soy milk, kefir and organic Stonyfield Farm whole milk yogurt. Bumblebeez, you mentioned on the butter substitute thread that you have trouble finding organic. Try talking to a manager at one of your local stores. They might be open to carrying more organic dairy if they learn there's a demand! Also, if you can find organic whole milk, try making your own yogurt. I'm lactose intolerant, and while I believe this is probably less of a problem with natural dairy (yogurt in particular, and non-homogenized, non-pasteurized - or possibly just organic milk since that's all I can find), I'm still wondering if that means milk is inflammatory for me. Dr. Shanahan indicates that cultures eating natural dairy don't seem to develop lactose intolerance or allergies...but not whether an intolerance or allergy is reversible once developed. If my system reacts badly to it, I suspect it's inflammatory for me.

jessicaml, my daughter is also lactose intolerant but she can et yogurt. The fermentation of the yogurt changes the lactose so it is tolerable by some people, I think you'd have to try it.

I get organic and anti-biotic/hormone free milk from a local dairy and make my own yogurt, it's really very easy.

Annie

Thanks, Annie! Yogurt does seem better on my digestion in general, though not perfect.

Right after your comment on NAIS I read this letter on the Weston A Price Foundation website:

"NAIS and Human Rights

I believe the proposed National Animal Identification System (NAIS) is one of the most significant issues to come along in a while, as the NAIS appears to be a fundamental infringement of human rights.

It�s one thing if a majority of Americans wants to run ever deeper into the technological jungle of mass communications, of unsurpassed production of herbicides, pesticides and industrial chemicals, of an ever more pervasive petroleum industry, of agribusiness with feedlots of 10,000 cattle. But a step like the NAIS begins to seriously impose the will of the majority on the small number of people in America who still want to live plain, simple, healthy lives. It�s as though three-quarters of the citizens in America took up smoking, but not being content with that, they want to require by law that the remaining one quarter also become smokers.

At the founding of this country, John Adams was concerned that in time a serious problem would develop, which he called "the tyranny of the majority." He was a perceptive man.

David Ellis
Portsmouth, Rhode Island"

Here is a link that might be useful: Weston A. Price Foundation, Winter 2008 Letters

Bumblebeez:
I have not made Wheat Bread but I did have milk from a Guern-sey,on my friends and brothers farm.

My friend said " you drank the milk, now you have to milk the cow ".
Right after milking the cow we brought the bucket of milk into the kitchen and
ran it thru a cheesecloth. It was almost half cream.

I cheated, filled a glass with milk and extra Cream and put it in the fridge.

Best milk I ever had.

They used a lot of the cream for Butter and Ice Cream.
LOU

Raw milk is so good for you! It's a treat for me and my husband, but it is important to know you're getting it from a reliable source. I never have any of the lactose issues (gas, bloating, etc.) when I drink raw milk versus the milk I buy at the store. When I was working at my previous, high-stress job, I would get terrible stomach aches/acid stomach. I thought I was getting ulcers. When I started drinking raw milk, that all went away.

We used to buy a half gallon every week when we were in Florida and it was the best! We just recently found a farm stand that sells it (Virginia) and we bought some last week. I like to have a small, cold glass of it with Nilla wafers as a treat.

It's worth it if you can find a good source to buy from. In my opinion, raw milk is one of those "wonder foods" that has more health benefits than we are aware of.

We've been buying raw, grass-fed milk from a Grade A Dairy for months now. I was a little bit apprehensive, but no problems at all. Over the past few weeks, the milk has been especially tasty, I wonder if it's because of all the spring grasses. We like to use the cream for coffee, it's delicious. The dairy has also started making raw milk cheese, am buying that for the first time this week.

Gardengrl - - - Petra :
You two do not play fair.

Now I have to call my buddy on the farm and pay him a visit, with a milk jug.
I will tell him I can not milk the cow, because of Arthur.
Hope it is still the same.
LOU

The one concern is to not get sucked in on terms like "natural".

I don't always agree with the feds and regulations but there's the other extreme when there aren't regulations.

According to the CDC over 800 people have gotten sick from drinking raw milk or eating cheese made from raw milk since 1998. That's not a huge number but one also needs to keep the perspective of comparing to number of people who drink it. I don't know those ratios.

Bacteria isn't always bad, however there should be some caution IMO for people with weakened immune systems and other sensitivities.

I've never had raw milk. I'm not running to find it either. I do believe fresh milk tastes better than old so I wonder if the raw milk tastes so good people, is it just that it might be fresher? Just a question. I don't really know why raw milk is so much better for you than pasteurized.

My point isn't to argue but to suggest getting as much information you can and make your decision from something other than opinion.

Here is a link that might be useful: From the FDA

The FDA doesn't mean a whole lot to me, cynic although I appreciate your help.
Based on that page listed, they also consider Brie an unsafe cheese to eat.
So, they are not my source of wisdom in the kitchen. ( among countless similar advice they offer)

Visit the farm in question and ask to see the cows and how they are cared for. Raw milk is superior and not dangerous to drink if the farm is spotless. Your best bet is to find a farmer that rotates his cows to differnt pasture, preferably every twelve hours, and is fed 100% grass. Cows are ruminates and by nature should not be fed grain. Grain alters the ph of their system. People get sick from food raised in filthy conditions, which was the case when people moved from farms to the cities and brought their cows with them, to live in confinement.

I won't touch industrial milk any more. Once you investigate how filthy commercial farms are, and what a joke the FDA and USDA are, you wouldn't either. If I ever have to in the future, I will raise my own cow as I will never touch milk, or meat from a store again.

Bottom line is, check the farm out. There is much less risk from drinking raw milk from a spotless, well managed farm, than from ANY commercial operation. A clean farm will never smell like manure and the cows look happy.

Furthermore, the government has absolutely no right to tell any of us what we should be eating and drinking. The choice is ours to make and not theirs. Perhaps it is about time people start becoming more vocal and demanding that right.

Thanks for your post, Sandy. I think I will visit the farm eventually and need to make a check list of what to look out for and ask about.
I have nothing good to say about the FDA either.

Cynic, as far as I'm concerned, the FDA is not trustworthy. They don't regulate factory farms very well (note regular recalls for salmonella and other nasties), but yet people have to be protected from raw milk? I don't buy it, but I do buy the raw milk. :o)
Re. nutrition, even if factory farmed milk were equal to raw, grass-fed in every aspect, I would still much rather support small, local dairies.
Lou, did you make it to the farm? :)

Just bear in mind that spotless cows in spotless barns can still have tuberculosis. Not likely, but the risk is always there with unpasteurized milk. My state has inspections of any place allowed to sell raw milk, so the chance is slight, but it's more of a risk than I would take.

Petra:
Sorry, I did not see your Post til now.

To your Question,
No, I am doctoring a swollen knee and leg from a fall.

Taking a while, because of other complications.

************************************************

A few years ago I put a large addition to his home, on the farm and got a lot of info, first hand.

A dairy farmer neighbor, in the next farm, had a problem.
The large company would not pick up his milk anymore.

It had to be a specified amount, or more ( gallons )

He said they were trying to force the small farmers out of the milk business.
They pooled together and worked it out somehow.
Made it harder to run their farms.

LOU

I can't imagine why anyone would want to take a risk with raw milk when pasteurized milk is available. When you weigh the risk vs benefit equation it seems much better to just use pasteurized. Germs are invisible after all so no matter how clean anything seems you can never be certain. Louis Pasteur must be turning in his grave poor man!
Joann

The health benefits of raw milk are easily available in a quick search. Nearly every book I've read on natural health over the years recommends raw milk.

Factory farm milk is allowed to contain disgusting substances (plus hormones and antibiotics) because it is going to be pasteurized anyway. Anyone concerned about raw milk dangers can still buy it and pasteurize it at home.

Obviously this is another one of those *extremely* polarizing and personal things that raises hackles and exaggerations obfuscating things so I'm going to just pick up my 10' pole and back away slowly! :)

This is why I don't think drinking raw milk is such a good idea.
http://www.publicopiniononline.com/news/ci_19877731

Here is a link that might be useful: Raw Milk sickens 35